Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to the Middle East over the weekend was both a major foray into war diplomacy and an attempt to show that the administration is taking a tougher stance toward Israel when it comes to the civilian casualties of its war against Hamas.
The message was aimed at leaders in the region as Israel begins a new phase of the eight-week-old war in which thousands of civilians have been killed. But the vice president also appealed to disaffected voters across the United States, particularly the young voters and voters of color who helped catapult President Biden into the White House in 2020.
In just three hours, Ms Harris juggled four key meetings or phone calls with royals and presidents at the UN climate summit in Dubai. Her private and public message on the war was one of the clearest statements by any American official – including Mr. Biden – and set guidelines for how Israel should fight its war and what the country should do when the fighting is over.
“Under no circumstances,” her office wrote of her remarks in a face-to-face meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, “will the United States allow the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.” Borders of Gaza.”
Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, said Monday that there is “no daylight” between the vice president and Mr. Biden, who have both expressed support for Israel and spoken about the need to protect civilians in Gaza. White House officials said Mr. Biden himself had been blunt with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in many private conversations.
But over the weekend, Ms. Harris was the messenger of choice to deliver that admonition in a very public way.
Her comments echoed Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who said in Israel last week that it was imperative that Israel have a “clear plan that prioritizes the protection of civilians.” And Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III warned in a speech Saturday that Israel would risk replacing “a tactical victory with a strategic defeat” if it drives civilians into the arms of terrorists.
For the vice president, the trip was a chance to move into the international spotlight, which was not the case despite several trips abroad last year. Mr. Biden is proud of half a century of global engagements, but Ms. Harris has also begun to build her own history of relationships with leaders in the region.
Since October 7, she has spoken three times with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She had three meetings with King Abdullah II of Jordan, including one at her residence in Washington. And Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates met her for the first time in May 2022 when she led the delegation to his predecessor’s funeral.
In her weekend conversations with all three, the vice president deliberately used her language forcefully, according to senior administration officials familiar with the preparations as Ms. Harris and her staff scrambled to organize the visit late last week.
An official said her comments were intended to reflect a desire in the Arab world for a set of principles that should guide how the war is conducted and how the region should deal with its consequences .
Their message to avoid future displacement of Palestinians was aimed primarily at Mr. el-Sisi of Egypt, who had said he would not accept a wave of refugees from Gaza. Her message on Gaza’s borders was a direct response to Arab leaders’ concerns over comments by some Israeli leaders about creating a safe buffer zone within the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.
The official said the messages were also addressed to Israeli leaders.
Ms. Harris did not stop in Jerusalem on the way home from Dubai on Sunday but called Mr. Herzog from Air Force Two.
“I have spoken to members of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities in America, including those who lost loved ones in Gaza and American citizens who were injured and evacuated from Gaza,” Ms. Harris said in her remarks to reporters after meeting with Arab leaders in Dubai. “It’s really heartbreaking. As Israel pursues its military objectives in Gaza, we believe Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians.”
Several administration officials said the vice president was also aware of the audience back home in the United States.
Some Democrats have said they will not vote for Mr. Biden next year because they say he has not supported Israel in protecting civilians in Gaza. Aides to the vice president say her tough comments were aimed in part at reassuring Americans who hold similar views.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said Israeli strikes had killed more than 15,500 people since October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. About 1,200 people were killed in the attack, Israeli officials said.
In recent weeks, Ms. Harris has traveled to college campuses across the country as polls suggest Mr. Biden’s support among younger voters is waning. She has spoken about abortion rights, student loans, the economy and, more recently, the Israel-Hamas war.
At an event at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona, 10 days after the October 7 massacre, Ms. Harris noted: “It is important to also recognize the difference between the terrorist organization Hamas and the Palestinian people and civilians and them. “should not be confused.”
In the nearly two months since then, their language has become clearer, reflecting the thousands of civilians who have died in Gaza and the length of fighting that resumed on Friday after a week-long pause in hostilities to exchange Hamas hostages and prisoners became Israel.
White House officials said Ms Harris was primarily in Dubai as the country’s envoy to the UN climate summit COP28. But during her one day at the conference, she focused on the war in the Middle East.
She delivered official climate remarks for the United States, which, like other world leaders’ remarks, were limited to about four minutes. And she missed almost all of the other climate events she was scheduled to attend.
At that event, the moderator of the renewable energy panel appeared confused when Ms. Harris was not in the room to be introduced. After a few awkward moments, the moderator said she would save a seat for the vice president if she arrived.
Ms. Harris was not far away, in another part of the sprawling exhibition center. She spoke on the phone to the Emir of Qatar. (Many of Hamas’s political leaders live in Qatar, which has long acted as a mediator for nations that refuse to negotiate directly with Hamas.)
The vice president arrived just as the last of the other panelists spoke. After delivering her brief climate remarks, Ms. Harris hurried from the stage to her meetings with the king of Jordan and the president of the United Arab Emirates – just as the moderator asked the panelists to gather for an official photo.
Before she had even left the room, Ms. Harris ran back onto the stage, smiled broadly at the camera, and then ran out of the room.
Moments later she shook hands with Sheikh Mohamed, the Emirati leader.